Mother Knows Best
by Calamity Heart
Summary: It's the end of the year, and everyone is looking forward to summer break. Tsukune, however, is traveling home with a little extra baggage. After an unexpected attack on him, Tsukune calls upon the help of his friends to discover the truth behind it. R&R!
1. Summer Vacation and a Vampire

Tsukune packed up the last of his things from his dorm room into his suitcase and the rest of his bags, preparing to leave the school. As he closed his last drawer, he heard a knock at his door. When he opened it, he saw a familiar face.

"Hi, Seiteki. What's wrong?" he asked.

The blonde girl standing before him looked upset and uncomfortable, as normal, but today, she seemed more melancholy than usual. She had a confused look on her face as she spoke.

"Who? Oh, me… Well, the thing is… I don't have anywhere to go." she said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember? I can't remember anything about my past. I don't know who my parents are, and you're the only one here I can really trust."

Tsukune had a strange look, so Seiteki continued.

"You told me I was a kitsune." she said, all of a sudden growing fox ears, a tail, four tail stumps, and a fluffy tuft of chest fur. She retracted her fox-like features and continued.

"And I had these strange feelings when I was next to people, so I researched kitsune and found out that kitsune can detect the true inner emotions of anyone around them through their ears. My ears always felt either hot or ringing when I was around others. I found out that hot ears meant that I was in the presence of anger, and ringing ears meant that fear was around me."

Tsukune remembered at the beginning of the year, when Seiteki had initially intended to kill off the female population and make the males her slaves. Tsukune was supposed to be Seiteki's 'king', but he was rescued by his companions and Seiteki was defeated.

Moka wanted to kill Seiteki, but Tsukune saw that there could still be some hope for her. He instead wiped her memory clean by severing all but one of her tails. Ever since Seiteki had awaken from her coma a week later, she's had trouble remembering her own name. The shock from losing most of her tails has also had an adverse effect on her personality. Seiteki continued her explanation.

"Even around some of my friends, my ears feel cold with indifference or damp with pity. But… when I'm around you, I'm always so warm. Not just in my ears, but your presence makes my entire body warm with happiness."

Seiteki stepped forward and gave Tsukune a hug. A slow tear fell from her face. "I'm so alone. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't with me, Tsukune-kun. I understand if I'm asking too much from you, especially considering your relationship with Mako-chan-"

"Moka." Tsukune corrected. Seiteki often suffered from short-term memory loss, but it was most prominent when saying Moka's name.

"Thanks. What I'm trying to ask is, can I live with you for summer vacation?"

Tsukune seemed taken aback by the question.

"Please, Tsukune? I have nowhere to go, and I can't pay for the summer boarding program that Yokai Academy offers." Seiteki pleaded, desperation in her voice.

Tsukune thought for a moment. "I'll have to call my parents, but I'm sure they'll approve."

"Yay! Thank you, Tsukune-kun!" Seiteki said, giving Tsukune a peck on the cheek. She pulled back suddenly, embarrassed at what she did. "I'm sorry…" she said, bowing in apology. Tsukune put his hands on Seiteki's shoulders, standing her up.

"It's fine, really." he said with a smile. Seiteki smiled back at him.

***

After the farewell gathering in the school courtyard, Tsukune and Seiteki walked down the dark road toward the bus station that divided the human world from the monster world.

"Thank you again for taking me in, Tsukune-kun." Seiteki said gratefully. "I hope I won't be too much trouble."

"Like I said, it's no trouble at all." Tsukune said, allowing Seiteki to step onto the bus first. Before Tsukune could step on as well, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if evil eyes were watching him. He brushed it off as best as he could and stepped onto the bus. As the bus pulled away from the station, a tall young man with eyes that were similar to Seiteki's stepped out of the bushes. He growled lowly, then dropped to all fours, following the bus.

***

Tsukune did not look forward to walking into the front door of his house, because he knew the first thing his parents would say. Not 'Welcome back, Tsukune!' or 'Look who's here!'

"Ooh! Is this the young lady you described to us over the phone?" Mrs. Aono asked as Seiteki walked in behind Tsukune.

"Yeah. She's a good friend from my school." Tsukune explained.

"Hi." Seiteki said, bowing in respect.

"She's much more beautiful than you described, son." Tsukune's father commented. An amused expression crossed his face. "You're not INVOLVED with her, are you?"

Tsukune's eyes widened with surprise and Seiteki began to blush.

"Of course not!" Tsukune protested strongly.

"Well, why ever not?" Mrs. Aono asked. "You're a mature man now. Besides, she seems nice."

"And VERY healthy." Mr. Aono said, rubbing his chin and smiling mischievously.

"Dad!" Tsukune moaned.

"Dasui!" Mrs. Aono objected, giving her husband a roguish glare.

"*sigh* I'm going upstairs to help Seiteki unpack." Tsukune said. He and Seiteki walked up the house stairs, up to Tsukune's room.

"I like your room, Tsukune-kun." Seiteki said.

"Thanks." he said, sitting on the bed.

"I should probably change out of my uniform. Is there anyplace I can get undressed?"

"You can get changed in here if you want."

Seiteki nodded, then began to take off her blouse. Tsukune was so distracted, he waited a few seconds before calling.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! After I leave." Tsukune said, standing and walking out of his room.

***

Later that evening, Tsukune sat at his window, talking on the phone to Moka.

"So how's Seiteki fitting in?" Moka asked.

"She really hit it off with my parents. They're downstairs now, talking."

Tsukune stopped for a moment and listened to the laughing voices downstairs. His mother was talking to Seiteki with a hearty voice.

"And here's one of Tsukune when he was three. Doesn't he look so cute?"

Tsukune sighed. "So when did you say you were coming?"

"We all agreed to stop by tomorrow afternoon. Yukari's caught a terrible cold, though, so she can't come. The rest of us are planning on staying for about a week." Moka said.

"Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow." Tsukune said, hanging up the phone. He stared out of his window, struck by boredom.

All of a sudden, a shadow that snuck by out of the corner of his eye peaked his interest. He looked and saw that it was a person, but what concerned him was that the person was looking at him. When he saw that the shadowy stare would not go away, Tsukune stepped away from his window.

"Tsukune-kun?" called a soft voice. Seiteki was standing at his doorway, clad in pajamas that belonged to Tsukune's mother.

"Kasumi-sama gave me some of her nightclothes to wear. Aren't they nice? They fit perfectly."

"Yes, they are…very nice." Tsukune said awkwardly.

"Thanks." Seiteki said with a yawn. "I'm going to bed. Good night." She stretched her arms and laid on Tsukune's bed.

'I see she's lost none of her appeal.' Tsukune thought as he climbed into his bed, next to her.

***

The next morning, Tsukune slowly awoke, feeling a strange pressure on his body. He looked up and saw that Seiteki had rolled over during the night. Her cheek was now pressed against his and her chest was flattening his neck. Both of her legs were wrapped around Tsukune's left thigh. All the pressure had caused his limbs to go numb, so Tsukune couldn't even move if he wanted to.

"Seiteki." Tsukune called, twisting around as best as he could, which wasn't succusful. Seiteki giggled in her sleep and pressed her body harder into Tsukune's.

'Oh, geez.'

Tsukune attempted to sit up, but the vice grip that Seiteki had on his body prevented him from moving more than an inch. Suddenly, Seiteki's eyes fluttered open, and after a few moments, she realized what was going on.

"Oh no!" Seiteki whispered, swiftly rolling off of Tsukune, knocking him off of the bed in the process.

"I'm sorry, Tsukune!" Seiteki said.

"Ah. It's alright." Tsukune strained to say as he laid on the floor, immobile.

Seiteki climbed out of the bed and grabbed Tsukune under his arms, beginning to drag him to the doorway.

"Come, Tsukune. A nice hot shower will ease the numbness away."

"Wait! You're not taking a shower WITH me, are you?" Tsukune asked.

"Well, of course. Who else is going to help you wash? Both of your parents are still asleep. Consider it my apology for injuring you in the first place."

"Really, there's no need for apology." Tsukune pleaded as Seiteki dragged him like prey into the bathroom.

'*sigh* Nope, none of her appeal.' Tsukune thought as Seiteki closed the door.

***

Tsukune called goodbye to his parents before he and Seiteki left the house.

"Is your neighborhood always this empty?" Seiteki asked.

"Not always. This isn't a lazy day, though. Everyone's just not here."

"He's here." Seiteki said, pointing to a tall man running toward them. Tsukune thought that he seemed familiar. After a moment, he realized that this was the man that was observing him the night before.

All of a sudden, the man dropped to all four, sprinting like a quadruped toward them. He grew in stature and dark red fur began to grow all over his body, ending with a long tail that was tipped with yellow.

"A hellhound!" Seiteki gasped in shock. The monster in question barreled straight toward Tsukune, who ran in the other direction. It completely ignored Seiteki, who took out a small book, labeled The Bite-Sized Monster Dictionary.

"Hmm. Let's see if I can find the article on this one." Seiteki said, casually flipping through the book as Tsukune ran for his life from the hellhound that was trailing him closely. He was desperately tapping on the silver links on his Holy Lock.

"C'mon! C'mon! Break!" Tsukune pleaded. The hellhound leaped at Tsukune and pinned him to the ground. Tsukune used all of his strength to keep the underworld creature from snacking on his head. All of a sudden, Seiteki flew in, having assumed her full kitsune form and pounced on the hellhound, knocking it off of Tsukune. Seiteki then regressed to her half-form.

"I've got it. Hellhounds are male kitsune mutts."

"Huh?" Tsukune asked.

"I'm a purebred kitsune. All of my genes come from other kitsune. Kitsune which are bred from a kitsune and a human are called 'royal pedigree', but kitsune which are born of unknown ancestry are called mutts."

"Why is he a hellhound?"

"Because he was born a male, he only has one tail, and his earliest ancestor was a descendant of Cerberus. We can definitely beat a mongrel like this."

Now being able to focus, Tsukune cracked a link on his holy lock and slipped into his ghoulish form.

'Kill…' said the malevolent voice inside Tsukune.

'No. I have to keep control.' Tsukune said to himself.

The hellhound shrank and stood upright, assuming a hybrid form, similar to Seiteki, save for the fluffy chest hair. Hostility still burned in his eyes and his lips curled into a snarl. However, this hostility seemed to be aimed only at Tsukune.

The hellhound sprinted forward, but Seiteki stepped in front to defend Tsukune, locking arms with her adversary and initiating a test of strength. Seiteki seemed to be losing at first, but for some reason, the hellhound pulled back slightly, giving Seiteki an opening to knock him backwards.

The hellhound growled and charged again, pushing Seiteki aside and tackling Tsukune, pushing him into a wall. Tsukune dodged to either to left or the right to avoid the hound's powerful fists. He threw a punch of his own, causing the hellhound to stagger backwards.

'KILL…' Tsukune's evil voice kept ringing in his head.

It was now difficult for Tsukune to remain in control. Another link on his bracelet snapped, and several more began to crack.

'I can't move! My conscious is fighting with the ghoul inside of me. I have to pull back!'

Tsukune reverted to his human form. The hellhound smiled evilly. He ran forward and belted Tsukune in the stomach with all of his strength. Tsukune choked up a large mass of blood before falling to the ground. The hellhound snarled as it raised its fists to finish Tsukune. Suddenly, Seiteki ran in and give a jarring sucker punch, right in the hellhound's jaw.

He flew through several buildings before finally landing out of eyesight.

"Tsukune! Are you okay?" Seiteki asked, kneeling beside him. Tsukune could barely move.

"Seiteki… Take…my phone…and call Moka. Tell her…to get here…now."

Then Tsukune fell unconscious.

***

In a strange location, the hellhound that attacked Tsukune and Seiteki stood before a red throne, in front of a woman whose face was hidden in the shadows.

"You have come back empty-handed, so am I to assume you have failed, my son?" the woman asked icily.

"Yes, Mother." the boy said shamefully.

"Did you at least kill the Aono boy?"

"N-No, Mother."

The woman on the throne was silent for several seconds, and the growing apprehension in the Mikoto's stomach was eventually too much for him to bear.

"Please! Have mercy on me, Mother! Please!!" he cried out.

A darkened smile crossed the face of the woman. "Very well, I will show mercy on your pitiful soul."

Mikoto breathed a sigh of relief, but his concern returned when the woman raised her right hand and pointed her ring finger at Mikoto. Her finger was royally adorned with several wedding bands, each one more extravagant than the next.

"Shave him. Rip off his ears, wear down his tail, and tear out every claw. He doesn't deserve to be a hellhound, let alone my son." she said, with no remorse at all in her voice.

Two girls that were standing on either side of the throne walked toward Mikoto, grabbing his arms and dragging him away.

"No! No, please!!"

"And while you're at it, FIX him as well. He doesn't even deserve his manhood."

"No!! Please, don't!!"

"Bring Rujutan and Kenage to me." the woman told another smaller girl.

She nodded and scampered away. A few minutes later, two twins who looked very similar to Seiteki walked up to the throne. The girl, Rujutan, was holding the smaller child in her arms and the boy had his arms crossed.

"Mikoto was a middle child, and a child of my fourth husband. I knew he wasn't a prodigy, but I didn't think that he would be so useless. You two are my second-born. I KNOW that you're not useless."

The twins nodded.

"Now find my little spitting image and bring her home." she said in a cooing voice. All of a sudden, her voice turned cold. "And don't forget to destroy the other boy that will be with her, or I'll show YOU mercy."

"Yes, Mother." the two said in unison, turning and walking away from the throne.

"What are we going to do that Mikoto didn't?" Kenage asked his sister.

"Mikoto wasn't the brightest bulb. He thought that brute force would capture her. We're going to do a little less 'direct' maneuver." Rujutan explained.

***

Tsukune slowly came to, waking up in his room. When he could finally see clearly, he saw three faces.

"When Seiteki called us, we came as fast as we could." said Moka's voice.

"Moka-san. I'm glad you're- Humph!!" Tsukune screamed as Kurumu hugged him, smothering him in her breasts.

"Oh! I'm so glad you're alright, Tsukune! I don't even CARE that you're bleeding on me!" she said.

"Can't breathe! Can't breathe!" Tsukune gasped, being released. "Phew. Hm? Didn't Mizore say that she'd be here as well?"

"Hi." said Mizore's voice, which made Tsukune jump.

The lavender-haired girl crawled from under Tsukune's bed, taking a deep breath of one of his socks. Seiteki stood shyly in between Moka and Kurumu.

"Who do you think it was who attacked you?" she asked.

"I've never seen him before. He was spying on me the night before, but I had assumed he was just weird. The real question is: WHY did he attack me?"

"We'll have to investigate." Moka said.

Tsukune tried to sit up, but winced in pain.

"No. Not now. We'll see what we can do once you heal. For now, just lay down and relax."

Tsukune laid down in his bed again.

"I'll get you something to eat." Moka said, turning. When she saw the doorway, Kurumu was already standing there.

"Not if I get it first!" she said, sprinting down the hall with Moka close behind, laughing.

Mizore had disappeared, but a sneeze gave away her hiding spot under Tsukune's bed once again. Seiteki leaned against one wall, thinking. The soft, peaceful quietness in the room eventually lulled Tsukune back to sleep.


	2. Evil Twins and a Vampire

In an empty building somewhere in town, the ding of an elevator rang, and the doors slowly opened. Rujutan and Kenage stepped out, with stoic looks on their faces.

"Remember the plan, little brother. We don't want to end up like Mikoto." Rujutan said, zipping up her jacket.

"How are you going to play YOUR game?" Kenage asked.

"I have my own agenda." Rujutan said, smiling mischievously. She walked out of the building with Kenage, and they both went their separate ways.

***

"Alright, Seiteki. First things first. Before we have any fun, we have GOT to get you some new clothes." Kurumu said with her hands on her hips.

She, Seiteki, Mizore, and Moka were in a clothing store at a local strip mall.

"W-What's wrong with the clothes I have?" Seiteki asked, looking at her plain yellow blouse and skirt.

"What's RIGHT with them? You're looks alone aren't going to turn many heads. You don't remember, but back at Yokai, you used to be a recluse when it came to fashion."

"Kurumu! Don't take advantage of her memory loss." Moka said.

"Anyway, I'm here to fix all of that. Take these seven outfits and try them on." Kurumu ordered, throwing a mountain of clothes at Seiteki and pushing her into the dressing room.

After about thirty minutes, Seiteki came out, wearing the fourth outfit that Kurumu gave her.

"Stop! That's perfect!" Kurumu said.

Seiteki was wearing a tight, glittery orange tube top that revealed a large amount of her cleavage and midriff area. She was also wearing a similar frilly mini-skirt and tights.

"Wait, wait, wait. You're wearing the skirt wrong. Let me fix it."

Kurumu pulled the waistband of Seiteki's skirt up, just below her naval. This change emphasized Seiteki's thighs more, and her underwear could be clearly seen by anyone her height or shorter.

"There! That's better."

"I don't feel comfortable in this." Seiteki said.

"I don't blame you." Mizore said sternly, pushing Seiteki back into the dressing room.

"What's the problem? She looks hot!" Kurumu protested.

"She looks like a slut. That sort of apparel may have worked for the old Seiteki, but she's innocent now. I don't think that turning heads is what she prefers anymore."

"Um, guys?" Moka said.

"Oh, and I suppose YOU know what she wants to wear?" Kurumu challenged Mizore.

"No, but I know more than you do. Seiteki, wear these." Mizore said, giving Seiteki another outfit.

When she came out, Mizore smiled. Seiteki was wearing a large, long-sleeved, snow-white shirt with a longer skirt where the hem extended to just over her knees. She also wore light blue cuff bracelets.

"See? That looks amazing on her." Mizore said.

"That looks like something that YOU would wear." Kurumu said, looking Seiteki up and down.

"Which means it's perfect."

"Guys?" Moka said louder.

"Seiteki, go back in the dressing room and put on outfit number five." Kurumu ordered.

"No. Don't move. We're getting this one." Mizore said.

"Um, I think Zoka has something to say."

"Who?" Mizore asked. Seiteki pointed at Moka.

"Who cares what Moka has to say? This is a crisis!" Kurumu said.

"GUYS!!" Moka yelled, stomping on the ground. Everything went silent.

"You're both wrong! I have an outfit that I know that SEITEKI will like." Moka said, handing her one more outfit.

A couple of minutes later, Seiteki walked out, smiling. She was wearing a yellow low-cut t-shirt that only revealed a small amount of her cleavage, paired with orange and white bell-bottom track pants and large sneakers. She also wore large orange-tinted sunglasses on her forehead.

"I like it." Seiteki said.

"Me too. I think it suits her." Mizore said.

"Hmm. It's a little too 80s-" Kurumu started, but she changed what she was going to say when Moka and Mizore gave her two icy stares.

"-a little too 80s if **I** was wearing it, but it fits Seiteki really well."

"Nice save." Mizore whispered.

"It's decided. We're getting this." Moka said. Seiteki changed back into her original clothes and the yokai clique walked up to the front of the store.

***

Rujutan pretended to browse the store, instead opting to spying on Seiteki and the girls she was surrounded by.

'Hmm. Mother didn't say anything about others. This complicates things.' Rujutan thought as she followed them all the way to the checkout counter.

'Time to make my move.' she thought, smiling inwardly.

Rujutan walked up to the group, gasping loudly. 'It really is her!' she thought with giddiness.

"Seiteki?? Is that you??"

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Seiteki asked with confusion.

'She's lost her memory. This explains a lot.' Rujutan thought as she spoke again.

"You mean you don't remember me? Rujutan, your own little sister?"

"I have a sister?"

"You have 279 younger sisters."

"What?!"

"Wow. Your mom needs a hobby." Kurumu said.

"You two certainly LOOK related." Moka said.

Rujutan gave Seiteki a big hug. "I haven't seen my Onee-san in months! And now that you're here, I'm so happy!"

"Hold on a second." Mizore whispered to Moka. "This girl doesn't know the new Seiteki. She's known the other, evil Seiteki her whole life. Isn't that a little suspicious?"

"Suspicious how?" Moka asked.

"Isn't there a chance that she could be evil, too?"

"Maybe, but she hasn't shown any evilness yet."

"Oh my goodness! You're breasts have gotten SO much bigger since I last saw you! Do you mind if I feel them?"

"Um… Well…" Seiteki stammered.

Rujutan didn't wait for an answer and pressed her cheek against Seiteki's bust.

"Ah! They're so much softer than I remember! They're like fluffy pillows!" Rujutan said. People around the store began to stare.

"If she's not evil, she's at least incestuous and perverted." Mizore said.

"I remember when you used to push me around and make fun of my anatomy. Well, look at me now!" Rujutan said, rubbing her own large chest against Seiteki's. The latter began to blush a deep shade of pink all over her face.

'Why am I feeling this way?' she thought, but then her mind began to distort. 'Who cares… It feels soooo good…'

'Hee hee. It's working.' Rujutan thought.

"Hey, guys. Considering that I haven't seen my sister in... Oh, who cares? Can I spend some time with her?"

"Sure, Seiteki." Moka said.

After purchasing her clothes, Seiteki gave them to her friends to take home with them.

"Yay! Come on, Onee-san!" Rujutan said, dragging Seiteki out of the store while smiling evilly.

***

Nearby, Kenage was silently watching the remaining girls. His eyes finally rested on Mizore.

"I choose her." he murmured, closing his eyes. "I'll have to assume my true form for a few moments, however."

Kenage crouched down and crawled backwards into the shadows, assuming his true form, then quickly transforming back into a human form. When he stepped from the shadows, he looked exactly like Mizore. He focused his mind, and suddenly, his hands turned into large claws made of ice.

'Excellent. These will be perfect to kill him with.' Kenage then ran along the wall, sticking to the shadows like glue.

He soon approached Tsukune's home, having arrived far before any of the others. He used his new claws to scale the wall of Tsukune's house, smashing his window.

"Gaah!! Mizore! What are you doing?!"

"Ending your game." Kenage said, ripping out one of his icy fingers, which quickly grew back. The finger he took, extended into a large spear. Tsukune's eyes widened as Kenage drove the spear straight through his chest.

"W-Why..?" he wheezed.

"I have my strategy." Kenage said.

"Hey!" yelled a voice outside the house. Kenage turned and saw the real Mizore, along with Moka and Kurumu. He grinned, then reverted to his original male form, making a huge leap to the roof of the house across the street and continuing to run.

"I'll chase him!" Kurumu said, growing her wings, claws, and tail. She beat her wings in the air, lifting herself off of the ground and soaring after Kenage.

Moka and Mizore rushed into the house and ran up to Tsukune's room. Mizore's jaw dropped and her mint lollipop fell out of her mouth. Moka had a look of pure dread on her face.

"Moka! Heal him before he regresses!" Mizore said with panic in her voice.

Moka ran forward and slowly removed the ice spear from Tsukune's heart. While she was doing this, Tsukune began to twitch and growl the word 'kill' under his breath. Suddenly, all of the links on Tsukune's holy lock shattered at once.

"We need a monster barrier spell!" Mizore said.

"Only the Headmaster and Yukari know it by heart!" Moka responded with rising fear in her voice.

Tsukune screamed, his voice distorted and ghost-like. Mizore blew a cloud of ice over him, which froze him in place for a few precious seconds.

"Call Yukari and ask her about the spell! I'll hold off Tsukune." Mizore said. She continued to refreeze Tsukune as he kept breaking free from his icy shell. Moka took her cell phone and hit a few keys rapidly, placing the device on speakerphone. After a few moments, a sickly voice answered.

"*SNIFF!* Hello?"

"Yukari! Tsukune's ghoul form is resurfacing! We need the monster barrier spell!"

"Only someone *snort* with a powerful magical aura can use the monster barrier spell. You're going to need an alternative."

"What kind of alternative?!"

"The holy lock has *sniff* shattered, right? You're going to need to repair it and put it on the wrist that is opposite of the wrist that the lock was originally."

"How do we repair it?" Mizore asked between breaths.

"You're going to have to release Inner Moka."

"How-" Moka started, but Tsukune stood and pushed Mizore aside, flailing his arms around, slicing anything that he touched. Moka stepped back to avoid getting clawed. Instead, Tsukune slapped the rosario off of Moka's neck. Inner Moka revealed herself, hew eyes widening when she saw the state that Tsukune was in.

"Inner Moka?" Yukari asked from the phone.

"Yes? What is it?"

"You need to repair the holy lock in order to bring Tsukune back. First you need three mediums."

"Hold on a moment." Moka said, grabbing Tsukune by the scruff of his shirt and throwing him out of the window.

"Okay, what were you saying?"

***

At a small bar, Seiteki and Rujutan were taking shots of clear liquid in a drinking game.

"I think I'm going to win." Rujutan said.

"Wow. You're… *burp* a much better drunk than I am. Why do I feel so strange? My throat burns." Seiteki said, her voice horribly distorted.

"Because you're an idiot." Rujutan said.

"W-What?" Seiteki asked.

"This is a little known fact, but kitsune aren't good drinkers in general. Just a couple of beers and more than half of our strength is gone."

"F-For the past minute, we've been taking shots of tequila." Seiteki said.

"No we haven't. I'VE been taking shots of water. YOU'VE been taking shots of pure alcohol. I'm surprised you're still conscious."

Rujutan looked back at Seiteki, and she was on the floor, barely awake. Her fox ears, tail, and tail stumps had grown, and hints of her chest fur began to poke out.

"It's amazing what alcohol can do to kitsune. Because we no longer have the spirits to control our forms, our hybrid body begins to emerge. I'd better get you out of here before people notice."

Rujutan picked up her older sister and carried her out under her arm, toward the strange building where she and Kenage emerged.

***

"Stop right now!" Kurumu yelled at Kenage. He turned around to face her.

"Whatever you say." Kenage said, taking a stance. Kurumu flew lower, preparing to tackle her opponent.

All of a sudden, Kenage crouched low and sprouted five tails, grew long fox ear and a large tuft of chest hair. Kurumu squinted as she flew faster toward Kenage. When she came about arm's length of him, all of a sudden, the sound of a cannon rocked the air and Kurumu was sent flying backward. When she stood, she was clutching her stomach.

"W-What was-"

Kenage cracked his smoking knuckles on his right hand.

"My hands are my greatest weapon. They're as quick as a bullet, and just as concussive. Those nails make you a close range combatant, which means that I'm your worst enemy."

"Not necessarily. Charm!" Kurumu said, winking at Kenage. Suddenly, the air around Kurumu and Kenage began to vibrate. Kenage squinted.

"Ha! I have too much will to fall under your seductive powers, and frankly, I don't think you're that cute."

A vessel popped in Kurumu's head. "What did you say?! I'm the cutest thing you'll ever see!"

She ran forward again, aiming her claws at Kenage. Once again, Kenage stomped on the ground, but Kurumu anticipated the coming strike, so she barrel-rolled out of the way, right before the cannon sound. Kurumu planted her feet into a nearby wall and used it as a spring to give Kenage a flying tackle. After rolling on the ground for a few moments, Kenage got the upper hand and rolled on top of Kurumu, sitting on her stomach and pinning her to the ground.

"Just surrender. This is one game you can't win." Kenage said.

***

"Do you have your three *achoo!* mediums?" Yukari asked over the phone.

"The rosario to transform my monstrous aura to magical aura and someone to make the real transfer into my last medium, the holy lock."

"We'd better hurry. We don't know where Tsukune went." Mizore said, touching the rosario and the holy lock with either hand. Moka closed her eyes, sending her energy through the rosario and Mizore, into the holy lock. Suddenly, the links began to come together in their insertions and the cracks began to fill themselves. After several seconds, the holy lock was fully repaired.

"Now we have to get this on Tsukune's left wrist, quickly." Mizore said, leaping out of the window, grabbing the lock. Moka followed close behind.

"I see him!" Mizore called, running toward a shadowy man running through the darkening streets. Tsukune saw them and stopped.

"Oh. Doesn't he still want to kill us?" Mizore asked. Her question was answered when Tsukune sprinted toward them.

"Let's go!" Moka said, following the same path that Kurumu did. Tsukune was trailing close behind, screaming the word 'kill'.

Mizore and Moka were looking behind them, so they didn't see Kurumu and Kenage in front of them. After violently crashing, Kenage stood, just in time to catch Tsukune's full weight into his face, making all of the dogpile collapse through the ceiling and landsliding into the street.

***

Rujutan stopped as the mountain of debris crumbled in front of her. Kenage crawled out, scratched up and bruised.

"Did you kill the boy?" she asked.

"That's no ordinary player." Kenage panted. Suddenly, Tsukune burst through the rubble. Rujutan's eyes widened.

"He's a ghoul?! Mother didn't tell us that!"

Moka lifted the rubble off of her and the others, throwing it aside as Tsukune faced Kenage and Rujutan.

"Ghouls are the toughest things to kill, period. Merciless, malevolent, and just plain tough." Rujutan explained.

"I guess there's no point in dragging it out. I'd better take my attacks to the next level."

Kenage clasped his hand above his head, throwing strange sparks. When he brought them down again, his hands were covered in an odd light green fire. Tsukune ran forward, and Kenage stomped on the ground.

"Kitsune-Bi! Multi-Blast!" Kenage yelled, throwing his fists as fast as he could. Several balls of green fire flew from his hands, seeming to strike Tsukune all at once. Kenage bent his leg further and he sped up his punches. As the fox fire struck Tsukune, it exploded outward, making a circular wave of green flames.

"Kenage! You're going to draw attention and give away your identity!" Rujutan warned.

Kenage threw one more punch, one that was so fast and so powerful, the fire went out as soon as the punch left his fist. A large needle of wind flew at Tsukune so fast, nobody saw it. Instead, they saw the result. The wind needle struck Tsukune and passed through his body, causing several internal injuries. The needle then crashed against the wall behind Tsukune. Tsukune's pupil-less eyes began to twitch and he stumbled forward a couple of steps before collapsing to the ground.

"He's close enough to death." Rujutan said. "Let's go before the cops show up."

She and Kenage ran into the building behind them, carrying a still unconscious Seiteki. Mizore looked up at the sign on the roof.

"H-E Double Hockey Sticks Recording Studio." she read.

"Come on! We have to follow them!" Kurumu said, running to the door.

"Not yet." Moka said, running to Tsukune and slipping the holy lock on his left wrist. The black marks that spread across his body began to retract, and Tsukune soon assumed his human form again. He groaned in pain.

"W-What happened?"

"You regressed." Moka explained. "Your ghoul form took over, but you were stopped. Just rest for a moment. Your regenerative powers should've healed you by now."

Tsukune slowly stood. Moka pointed at the building in front of him. "They took Seiteki in there."

"Why?"

"We're about to find out."

Moka walked past Tsukune into the ominous building, with everyone else in tow.


	3. Rising Action and a Vampire

Inner Moka entered the derelict recording studio where Seiteki was taken, followed by Mizore and Kurumu, who were propping Tsukune on their shoulders.

"It's okay. I'm feeling better now. You can put me down." he whispered.

"Why are you talking so low? There's no one here." Mizore said, releasing Tsukune.

Moka pressed the elevator button up, but nothing happened. She pressed the elevator button down, and a red light went off behind the button, instead of a standard yellow. The rickety door slowly opened, but rattled and sopped about halfway.

"This is ridiculous." Moka said, using her strength to pry open the doors. The group entered, then looked at the floor numbers on the panel in front of them.

"Which should we pick?" Kurumu asked. "I think the top floor."

"Nah. Too obvious." Tsukune said.

"Well, what do you suggest?"

"Maybe somewhere in the middle? Like 17?"

"Too vague. I still think it's the top floor."

"We have to think differently than we normally would. It's like a riddle." Mizore explained. "This place is called 'H-E Double Hockey Sticks Recording Studio. The number that is consecutive with 'H' is 8, and the number that's consecutive with 'E' is 5, so the floor we need is unlucky 13."

Mizore went to press number 13 on the panel, but it had been worn out and fallen off.

"Hm. That's strange."

The arguments rose, while Moka was busy studying the key panel. She pressed a button, but it didn't light up. She tried pressing all of the buttons, but none of them worked. She squinted, then spied the screwed-in panel under the keys that was cleaner than the rest of the panel. Using her sharp nails, she carefully worked the panel off, smiling when she saw what was under it.

"SHUT UP!! You're ALL wrong!"

The elevator went silent.

"If you guys had taken the time to actually LOOK at the keys, you would've noticed the panel under it, that it looked different than the rest of the panel. And look what's under it."

Moka pointed at the Floor -1 button that was under the panel.

She pressed the button and a red light flashed behind it again. All of a sudden, the flickering white light above them turned a steady red and the elevator made a sudden drop downward. After several terror-filled seconds of falling, the elevator made a sudden stop, causing everyone in the elevator to crumple to the floor, groaning.

"Is it me, or did it get hotter?" Kurumu asked.

Once everyone regained their composure, Moka opened the elevator doors, flinching from the intense heat that slapped her in the face.

The group filed out of the elevator, looking around.

Mizore looked at herself, noticing that she was melting rapidly.

"I forgot my mints. Okay, I'm out." she said, walking back into the elevator and closing the doors. "I'll be back ASAP."

The remaining three walked through the large, red cavern, searching for Seiteki. Moka stopped them before they turned a corner, hearing voices.

"Very good, you two! I am so proud!" said a woman's voice. Moka, Kurumu, and Tsukune peeked their heads from the corner, trying their best to see what was going on. Seiteki was kneeling between the two other kitsune who captured her, still in her hybrid form. All three were standing in front of a large throne, where a woman sat in the shadows.

"I'm coming down. I've got to see my little baby with my own two eyes."

The woman stepped from the shadows and down to the ground. When she did, Tsukune's eyes widened a little.

"She looks just like Seiteki."

"She must be her mother." Moka whispered.

"W-Who are you?" Seiteki asked with definite fear in her voice.

"She's lost her memory, Mother." Kenage said.

"I know. That's why I asked you to kill the Aono boy. He's the one who caused her memory loss. Did you succeed in that?"

"We thought it'd be easy, but you left out a crucial piece of information." Rujutan said. Her mother raised an eyebrow.

"Why didn't you tell us that he was a ghoul?" Kenage demanded.

"Don't raise that tone with me, young man. You're not too old for me to take you over my knee. And when did THIS happen? Mikoto never told me he was a ghoul."

"He must've forgotten." Rujutan said.

"Mikoto is an idiot. He'd forget his head if it wasn't attached to his body." Kenage said coldly. "That's why WE completed our objective."

Seiteki stared up at the woman before her. "You're my… mother?"

"Yes I am. Megami Debiru. You're Seiteki, my oldest out of 351. I just had Yoji a couple of days ago. She's so cute! But back to the matter at hand-"

"I have to get out of here, and back to my friends." Seiteki panicked, standing to run.

Megami grabbed one of Seiteki's fox ears and she stopped in her tracks.

"W-What are you doing? Why do I feel…so hot?"

"I thought that this was the time of year. You're in heat." Megami said.

"In…what?"

"Heat: noun; the sexually receptive phase in the life of a female mammal. When female kitsune are in heat, their ears become an erogenous zone. The hotness you must be feeling in your body, especially in your lower regions, comes from sexual stimulation. The ears are an Achilles' heel in battle, however. When sexually stimulated, a girl will lose a lot of muscle strength and body control, which is what I'm taking advantage of right now."

Megami slowly caressed Seiteki's ear, causing a pleasurable whimpering noise to rise in her throat, and causing her to drop to her knees.

"Who's a good girl?" Megami asked in a cooing voice, while gently scratching behind her daughter's ear.

Seiteki began to turn red and tried her hardest to hardest to hold it in, but eventually, she couldn't hold it anymore and let out a long, congenial moan.

"Please… stop… This is…wrong."

"What's wrong with pleasuring my daughter? You used to enjoy this when you were still living with me." Megami said.

'Is this how cats feel when we scratch behind THEIR ears?' Seiteki thought.

"You can't leave, Seiteki, mainly because I won't let you. My heart ached from the moment you left 9 months ago to take over that school. And now that you're back, I never want to let you go. Maybe I'll give Kenage and Rujutan their own kingdom, and as soon as you're strong enough, you can overthrow me and take over this one."

"I…don't want a kingdom. I want…to see my friends."

"That'll change once I resurge your memories."

"No." Tsukune whispered.

"Hey, guys. I have my mints." said Mizore's voice. Tsukune yelped in surprise, jumping out in the open.

Megami glared daggers at him, growling.

"Tsukune!" Seiteki called.

"Intruder! Kenage, Rujutan! Kill him! And make sure he's dead this time!" Megami ordered.

The twins crouched to all fours and sprinted forward toward Tsukune, who was frozen with fear. Kenage reached him first and raised his claws to strike, but Moka leaped from her hiding spot and gave a jarring mid-air kick into Kenage's ribs.

"We've got you covered. Get Seiteki." Moka said.

Tsukune nodded and broke a link on his holy lock, assuming his ghoul form.

"Huh! You really are a ghoul. No matter. It won't take me any longer to snap your scrawny little neck." Megami said, standing straight up. She sprouted nine lustrous, golden tails, a pair of similar fox ears and a large, groomed tuft of chest fur.

"Just stay put." Megami said, rubbing under Seiteki's chin with one of her tails.

Megami turned back to Tsukune, who had run forward and thrown a swift punch. She caught it not a moment too soon.

"My, aren't we gallant? Luckily, I'm not one to disappoint!" Megami said, retaliating by giving Tsukune a quick belt in the stomach. He flew into the air and landed hard on the ground with a thud.

"Just give up now. I'll make sure your death is quick and painful." Megami said, flashing her claws at Tsukune's neck.

Suddenly, her eyes widened and her pupils dulled. Megami's legs began to buckle from under her. Behind her, Seiteki had grabbed onto Megami's ears.

"Grr. What…are you…doing?" she demanded weakly.

"Looks like I've turned the heat up on YOU." Seiteki said, rubbing her mother's ears. Her legs gave way and Megami fell to her knees.

***

Nearby, Moka and Kenage were trading equally harsh blows. Moka stumbled backward, spitting on the ground.

"You're pretty strong, for an inbreed."

"I'm a purebred!" Kenage said running forward and throwing his arm at Moka.

She ducked backwards, kicking her leg upward and catching Kenage square in the chin. He stumbled backward himself.

Kenage squinted, then stomped on the ground, shifting into a lunge. Moka lifted her hands to defend herself, right before the cannon shot. She flew backwards, into a stalagmite, her hand smoking and severely bruised from taking the full brunt of the attack.

Kenage lunged again.

"Kitsune-bi! Multi-Blast!"

Kenage punched the air several times consecutively, sending lightning-fast balls of green fire straight at Moka. The area where Moka was standing was engulfed in a large fan of emerald flames.

When Kenage stopped, he smiled, thinking that Moka had been scorched alive. But when the smoke cleared, Moka had disappeared.

Kenage frowned, then glanced around him. Suddenly, Moka's voice spoke behind him.

"How slow."

As soon as Kenage turned, Moka threw her knee right into Kenage's stomach, causing him to reel forward. Moka pushed him away, then planted both hands on the ground, mule-kicking Kenage into the air.

Moka bent her arms, then used them as a spring to catapult herself into the air, in front of Kenage. She wrapped her arms around his legs and her own legs around his neck. They both freefell to the ground, and Moka pile-drove Kenage's skull into the earth.

"Learn your place." Moka said, walking away.

***

Rujutan had decided to attack Kurumu and Mizore, throwing condensed balls of fox fire at them.

"Don't run! You'll only make yourselves tired!" she taunted, as Mizore and Kurumu ducked behind a jutting protrusion of rock. Grinning, Rujutan crouched to all fours and assumed her true kitsune form.

She opened her jaws and began to charge a large ball of fox fire. Behind the protrusion, Mizore gulped down several mint-flavored Tic-Tacs.

Rujutan blasted the large ball of green fire at Kurumu and Mizore's hiding spot. Suddenly, Mizore stood and turned her arms and shoulders to ice. She quickly expanded them into a U-shape and cryokinetically carved a large hole through the U-shaped tunnel.

The fox fireball flew into one hole and out of the other, redirecting its path toward Rujutan. It exploded, right in the large fox's face.

Mizore relaxed, turning her U-Turn tunnel back into her upper body. When the smoke cleared, Rujutan had melded with the fox fire that struck her, morphing into a five-tailed cat-like beast with large bowl-like eyes.

"Uh oh." Mizore said, ducking back behind the protrusion before Rujutan breathed a cloud of fox fire on her.

"She fused with her fox fire! Now she's a Nibiru!" Kurumu said with fear and panic in her voice.

"I think I can see a weakness." Mizore said, using her icy claws to reflect light at Rujutan.

"With eyes that big, just the smallest ray of concentrated light should blind it."

Mizore accurately aimed two beams of light into Rujutan's eyes. They shrunk dramatically, until the pupils could be barely distinguishable. Rujutan roared in pain, blinking several times.

"Now we've got a clear shot!" Kurumu said, leaping toward Rujutan. The large, green Nibiru squinted, then slapped Kurumu aside, into a wall.

"I may not be able to see, but I can still hear you, smell you, and feel your vibrations on the ground." Rujutan growled.

Kurumu looked back at Mizore, who was blowing ice onto the wall behind her that spelled, 'Distract her.' Kurumu nodded, then took flight again, buzzing around Rujutan.

The annoyed Nibiru blindly swatted at Kurumu, but her erratic movements made it difficult.

Behind the protrusion, Mizore had taken a pure mint leaf from her pocket and eaten it whole. Then she spit in a nearby hole, filled with lava. Once her spit hit the lava, it immediately froze over.

"Cool." she said, breathing a cloud of ice as she did.

Mizore leaped over the protrusion, sprinting toward Rujutan. The Nibiru noticed too late. Mizore leaped into the air and blew hard on Rujutan, surrounding her in a large haze of ice. When the ice cloud dissipated, Rujutan had turned from green to blue, and she was frozen solid.

"Well, that takes care of that." Mizore said, still breathing ice.

***

Megami tried vainly to raise her arms, but she had lost all muscle strength. Tsukune had reverted to his human form.

"Are you okay, Seiteki?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Flustered and hot, but fine." Seiteki said.

"You know, you're going to have to let go of my ears eventually, and once you do, I'm going to give you SUCH a whooping!" Megami said weakly.

Seiteki squinted and threw Megami into the shadowed throne behind her. She and Tsukune quickly ran after the rest of the group toward the elevator.

***

Tsukune and the girls didn't stop running until they reached Tsukune's house. They all piled into his room and collapsed onto the floor, panting.

"That was crazy." Kurumu said.

"At least we succeeded. Seiteki's back with us." Tsukune said.

"But we're still not safe. As long as SHE'S with us, nobody is safe." Moka sneered, looking at Seiteki, who stared at the floor.

"What are you implying?" Tsukune asked.

"Why can't we just give her back to her mother? It would satisfy her AND keep her cronies out of our hair."

"But what about Seiteki?"

"What about her? She still owes me. You would've lost that battle had I not come with you all, and I didn't even have to. The other Moka may think of her as a friend, but I couldn't care less."

"Then why DID you come?! If you don't like me, why help me?" Seiteki challenged, standing.

"I didn't do this for you. I did this for him." Moka said, pointing at Tsukune. "I didn't come out of this scot-free."

Moka raised her broken left hand.

"And if HE wasn't so gullible, he'd be human enough to hold a grudge. Then we wouldn't be in this situation."

"So you think it's BAD that I don't hold a grudge against people?" Tsukune asked.

"Right NOW it is. The legions of hell are on a manhunt for us! You don't think that's bad?"

Tsukune was silent.

"Exactly. You're only human, Tsukune. You can't solve every problem in the world."

Tsukune's rage grew for a quick moment.

"You're wrong! Because of you, I'm NOT only human! I'm a vampiric freak! My eyes have turned red, I'm anemic, I have to chug a gallon of water whenever I SEE blood. I'm nowhere NEAR human!"

Moka grabbed Tsukune by the collar and slammed him into the wall.

"You must've forgotten who you're talking to. Who saved your life by weakening her own body, on SEVERAL occasions?! You're lucky you're even a GHOUL! There was a 90% chance that you could've died, and if you didn't die, there'd be an additional 9.99% chance that I would've killed you! You're the luckiest man on the planet, Tsukune!"

Tsukune noticed the rosario lying on the floor beside him. He picked it up.

"You're right. You did save my life, and I thank you for that. But that's not the point. The point is, Seiteki is my friend, and I'll never abandon my friends."

Tsukune attached the rosario to the link on Moka's neck.

"I told you that you'd regret sparing her life, Tsukune. And now you're making another big mistake. I hope you're proud of yourself." Moka said before reverting to her outer form.

"W-What happened? Tsukune, you're back to normal." Moka said.

"I'll explain later. Right now, we need a plan. The constant hounding from Seiteki's mother will continue until she's defeated, once and for all." Tsukune said.

"We can't do this alone. We need some more help." Kurumu said.

"Hey, what about our parents? They'll help us for sure." Mizore suggested.

"Good idea. Contact them as soon as possible."

"We will. Bye, Tsukune." Moka said, walking out of the room, with Kurumu and Mizore following her.

Seiteki sadly sat on Tsukune's bed. "This is horrible. Your friendship with Koma is being strained because of me."

"It's not your fault, Seiteki. We'll get through this, eventually."

"Thanks. Goodnight."

"Night, Seiteki." Tsukune said, climbing into his bed and turning out his light.


	4. Climactic Scrimmage and a Vampire

"We're all set Tsukune. I've contacted Kokoa and Kahlua. They're accompanying Father here." Moka was telling Tsukune in his room.

"That's great. Mizore and Kurumu's mothers are coming as well, but right now, I need to talk to the other Moka for a second." Tsukune said, taking the rosario off of Moka's neck and surfacing Inner Moka.

"What do you want?" she sneered.

"I want the aggression to end. I understand that you don't like Seiteki, but-"

"But you want me to put my feelings and opinions aside and help her anyway? Do you have any idea how it makes me feel when you choose someone you've been acquainted with for an entire semester over someone you've KNOWN for three years? Believe me, it doesn't feel good."

"I'm not choosing Seiteki over you. She's in danger and I want to help her. Why can't you see that?"

Moka crossed her arms. "Because we've been down this road before. Twice, actually. The first time was with Kurumu, and the second time was when you spared Seiteki. Both times, you disregarded MY feelings."

"You wanted to kill both of them. You eventually befriended Kurumu. Why can't you do the same for Seiteki. She would appreciate it, and so would I."

Inner Moka thought for a few moments. "I've let my internal feelings for you cloud my judgment in the past…and I think I'm going let it happen again. The only reason I'm going through with this is for you." Moka decided, taking Tsukune's hand and making him put the rosario back on her neck. "Just don't forget that you owe me BIG."

The Outer Moka re-emerged.

"So what happened?"

"I reasoned with your inner self. She's going to help us."

***

Underground, Megami paced around the room, waiting for something.

"Kenage! Rujutan! Where are you? We have to leave NOW!"

"Okay, okay. We're coming." said Rujutan's voice. After a moment, the twins walked out from a stony corridor.

"That's the second time I've let Seiteki escape my grasp. Since I can't rely on my own flesh and blood to bring her back FOR me, we're going up there and taking her."

"We DID bring her back! It's not our fault that she escaped. WE weren't the ones fighting her down here." Rujutan protested.

"Watch your mouth, little lady. You already got ONE spanking today for failing me. Do you want ANOTHER one for being a smart-aleck?"

"No, ma'am." Rujutan said.

"That's what I thought. Now let's go. We're burning daylight."

Megami and the twins walked toward the elevator doors that led to the upper world.

***

Outside Tsukune's house, a small bus pulled up to a nearby stop.

"I hate public transportation. There's no air conditioning." said a woman's voice.

"Oh, stop complaining. At least we weren't riding in some crowded bus or train with freaks and perverts." said another.

Mizore and Kurumu came out of the bus first, followed by their respective mothers.

"Freaks and perverts aren't as bad as melting." Tsurara said.

"Of course they are! Which would you rather have: six or seven men grabbing at every part of your body, or a little perspiration?" Ageha asked.

"How do you put up with that?" Moka asked.

"What?" Mizore asked, taking a pair of plugs out of her ears.

"So what was the problem that you told us about?" Tsurara asked.

Suddenly, a small explosion shifted everyone's attention.

"What was that?" Kurumu asked.

"It's her…" Seiteki said ominously.

"That's the problem we told you about. Come on." Mizore said, running toward the site of the explosion. As they ran, the screaming and talking people around them suddenly fell silent, then fell to the ground.

"What's happening?" Tsukune asked.

"It's a charm. One that puts mortals to sleep." Moka explained. "You're ghoul powers prevent it from affecting you."

The large group soon reached the explosion area. Megami emerged from the smoke first, coughing.

"I hate that stupid elevator. And those screaming mortals, ugh! Looks like my charm worked like a charm, however." she said, looking around at the people lying on the ground all around her.

"No way… Megami??" Ageha said, astounded.

"It IS her." Tsurara said.

Megami's eyes lit up.

"Ageha! Tsurara! It's so good to see you two!"

"Uh…" Kurumu murmured, confused.

"Remember the time I told you that me and Tsurara were rivals for someone's love back when we were students at Yokai Academy? Well, I never told you the whole story." Ageha began to explain. "As it turns out, by the time Tsurara and I stopped arguing and fighting over Ko, Megami had already STOLEN him from us."

"I didn't STEAL him. He asked me out. Ironic isn't it? You two were fighting over who was going to ask him out, but HE asks someone ELSE out. That's awesome."

Tsurara's hands and hair turned to ice. Mizore took a similar appearance.

"You don't know what you're getting into, Mizore. Megami is a killer. She'll destroy you without a second thought."

"What about you? You can't fight her alone. Besides, she endangered my friends, and I can't forgive that." Mizore said.

Tsurara nodded. "Fine, but watch yourself. This battle will be harder than any you're ever fought before."

Tsurara threw a small ball of ice at Megami, and as it cruised through the air, it grew into a much larger ice ball, smashing into Megami and carrying her in its direction. Tsurara ran after her. Mizore followed as well, freezing the entrance to the recording studio as Kenage and Rujutan emerged, suspending them in a large block of ice.

Megami flew with the ice ball all the way to the harbor that sat on the edge of the town. She smashed the ball and fell into the water.

"Ugh! This is my favorite dress!" she complained.

Mizore placed her hands on the water in the harbor, flash-freezing it. Megami quickly activated her hybrid form and paddled her tails under the water, giving her the lift to jump up out of the water before it froze over.

"Thanks a lot! You've ruined my best outfit!" Megami said, clutching her soaked dress. "I guess I'll have to slip into something a little more comfortable."

Megami ripped her dress off of her, revealing a shorter, tighter sundress.

"Now where were we?"

Tsurara and Mizore leaped onto the ice, gliding across it with ease. Megami tried to move, but found it extremely difficult to walk on the ice in high-heel shoes.

"Guess I'll have to beat you standing here." she said, ducking and weaving whenever Tsurara or Mizore swung their claws at her. To keep herself steady, she buried the heels of her shoes into the ice. Mizore came around for another attack, but Megami grabbed her arm before she could strike.

"No!" Tsurara said, gliding as fast as she could toward Mizore.

"I gotcha!" Megami said, swinging Mizore around and striking Tsurara, sending them both flying back toward the harbor.

"Now, let's see if you can handle this!" Megami yelled, slapping her tails on the ice consecutively. Tremors began to break the ice apart and make Mizore and Tsurara unsteady. Megami then turned around and slammed all of her tails into the ice at once, causing a large wave to rise up and careen toward the mainland.

Mizore and Tsurara gasped and glided forward, blowing a large cloud of ice on the wave, slowing and eventually stopping it.

Megami punched the ice in front of her, sending a large burst of energy through the ice, completely destroying the large ice wave. Large chunks of ice began to rain down. Tsurara leaped back, but Mizore was too slow and was engulfed in the large cloud of ice and snow. All of a sudden, Megami leaped into the icy mist and gave Mizore a jarring punch, making her fly into one of the docks and smashing it to pieces.

Tsurara gasped, then ran forward to strike Megami, who leaped into the air. She began to rotate her tails like a propeller, giving her the ability to fly.

"This is getting tedious. Let's make it a little more interesting."

Megami flew low and grabbed Seiteki, lifting her up into the air with her.

"Hey! Put me down, please!" she yelled.

"You'll thank me for this." Megami said, charging a ball of fox fire in her hand. Tsurara's jaw dropped.

'She wouldn't.'

"Let's see if you can block THIS!" Megami yelled to Tsurara, dropping the fox fireball.

In a panic, Tsurara ran onto the mainland. When she reached where the fox fireball would land, she raised her hands in the air and the ice from the harbor rose up into the air.

Megami clasped her hands together, and the fox fireball suddenly expanded to a gigantic size. Tsurara clasped her own hands together, and the large clods of ice she had gathered turned into a gargantuan shield of ice that was trying to block the expanding fox fireball from leveling the town. Tsurara squinted, blowing a cloud of ice to keep the fox fireball from melting all the way through.

Tsurara used all of her strength to move the large shell of ice away from the city and into the ocean. She then began to violently hyperventilate, then collapsed from exhaustion.

"That's two down." Megami said, with Seiteki still struggling to get out of her grip. She looked down, seeing Ageha and Kurumu flying up toward her. Megami quickly moved out of the way, but Kurumu extended her claws to grab Seiteki from her.

"Hey! Get back here!" Megami yelled, beginning to fly after Kurumu. She stopped suddenly when Ageha grabbed one of her tails.

"Big mistake." Megami said, rotating the tail that Ageha grabbed, spinning her around at super-high speeds. Ageha was thrown off of Megami and sent flying through the air.

Kurumu flew to the ground and dropped Seiteki off, next to Moka. Ageha dropped down to the ground, shattering the large block if ice that was encasing Kenage and Rujutan.

"Mom!" Kurumu called, running to Ageha's side. The blow had knocked her unconscious.

'Oh, man! It's just me, Tsukune, Moka, and Seiteki! I don't like our odds.'

Suddenly, there was a cannon fire, and Kurumu was launched forward, rolling on the ground. There was a smoking bruise in her back from where Kenage struck her.

'And now…I like them…even…less…' Kurumu thought weakly before falling unconscious.

"Nice shot, Kenage." Megami said. "And then there were two."

The kitsune goddess turned her attention to Tsukune and Moka. They stood in front of Seiteki and backed away.

"Why are you trying to keep me away from my daughter? If anyone is evil in this scenario, it's you two." Megami scolded.

"I have no idea who you are. You told me yourself that you'd isolate me from my friends. I don't want to live like that, with someone I don't even know, and away from the people I DO know.

"I've changed my mind now. Once I restore your memories, your friends can live with you as your slaves."

"I don't want that! You can't make me!"

"Aw, sweetie. Of course I can." Megami said, sprinting forward and slapping Moka and Tsukune away. They both flew into walls.

"Seiteki!" Tsukune yelled, running forward. Rujutan leaped and tackled Tsukune, holding him down. Kenage bound Moka's arms behind her.

Seiteki tried to run away, but Megami grabbed her legs with one of her tails, flipping her upside-down.

"No! No! Please don't!" she protested as Megami touched her cheek.

"Please don't resist, Seiteki. I don't want to have to use force." Megami said sadly. When she saw that Seiteki wouldn't stop resisting, Megami grabbed Seiteki's head and forced her to look into her eyes.

"Just listen. What I'm going to do is regenerate your tails. The influx of power will jar your original mindset back to the surface."

"I don't WANT my original mindset!! If you're such a 'great mother', why won't you listen to me?!"

"Because right now, you're not my daughter. I want my daughter back, and I'm going to get her. The you that you are right now is a mistake, a mistake that I won't ever let happen again. Mistakes have to be erased, Seiteki." Megami said, her eyes glowing golden.

After a few seconds, Seiteki's eyes began to glow as well. She unwillingly assumed her hybrid form. Slowly, her tails were beginning to grow back.

"No! Seiteki!" Tsukune was calling as the regeneration process took place. He shattered a link on his holy lock and slipped into a ghoul form. Using his newfound strength, Tsukune pushed Rujutan off of him and began to run toward Seiteki and Megami. Before he could reach them, however, all four of the destroyed tails had been regenerated.

Megami flipped Seiteki back to an upright position and placed her on the ground. Soon, the golden glow flickered from her eyes.

"Seiteki, honey? Is that you?" Megami asked, paying no mind to Tsukune.

"M-Mom?" she asked.

"What can you remember?"

"What do you mean? I remember lots of- Huh? What am I doing here? Wasn't I at Yokai Academy just a few minutes ago?"

Seiteki looked around, spotting Tsukune a meter away.

"Tsukune! It's so good to see my lovely king again!"

Tsukune stared, flustered. Seiteki looked to her right and sneered.

"Moka."

Moka could do nothing but stare on, with a look of fear on her face.

Seiteki extended her claws, giving an evil toothy grin that matched her mother's.

"I've been waiting for this."

"Wait!" Moka said, remembering when Seiteki was defeated the first time. "What happened to the whole 'I deserve this.' speech??"

"What I may have said was all but half-true, just to get one tiny shot at being spared. It must've worked, because I'm still alive. Too bad you won't be able to say that in a few moments."

Tsukune ran forward in a desperate attempt to save Moka. Just as he reached them, a shadow passed over them all.

Suddenly, a spiked ball-and-chain with a smiling face on it fell from the sky, crushing Seiteki and knocking Tsukune and Moka back.

"Direct hit!" yelled a hearty voice. Suddenly, Kokoa and Kahlua dropped to the ground.

As Tsukune flew through the air, he unintentionally snatched Moka's rosario off, slamming into a wall and causing it to collapse on top of his back. Only the top half of his body was visible and Tsukune was unable to move.

Inner Moka emerged, and she looked around to get a good look at what was going on. Kokoa pulled back the ball-and-chain, which morphed into Kou, the bat.

"This battle lasted approximately two seconds!" he said.

"Ow…" Seiteki said, slowly standing.

"Never mind." Kou said.

Kokoa squinted and turned Kou into a spiked flail, using it as a baseball bat and striking Seiteki, sending her flying into a wall.

"Seven seconds!" Kou called. Seiteki fell off of the wall and stumbled to her feet.

"Never-"

"Shut up!" Kokoa yelled, turning Kou into a large medieval mallet and attempting to smash Seiteki again. She caught it.

"I'm getting sick of this." Seiteki said tiredly. She pushed Kou back, preparing to strike back.

"Don't tire yourself, Seiteki. I've got it." Rujutan said, leaping in front of her older sister.

"I guess that means you're MY player two." Kenage said, crouching in front of Kahlua.

"Please don't make me do this. I don't want to hurt you." Kahlua said.

"Good. This should be easy, then." Kenage said, throwing a lightning-fast punch at Kahlua.

Moka looked up into the air, seeing someone else leap to the ground.

"Father." she said. Megami reacted as well.

"Ko-san! What a pleasant surprise!" she squealed. "I haven't seen you since the break-up." the last words escaped gritted teeth like acid.

"Megami…" Moka's father said. "I haven't seen you in years. What's been going on with you, other than the obvious digression to insanity?"

"Well, I've had 20 more kids, Seiteki came back, and I hate you with a passion now, but enough about me. What's been happening in your life?"

"I've been taking it SLOWER and had only four children, I met an interesting young friend of one of my daughters, and I hate YOU with a passion."

"Well that's good."

"I assume you're the one I've come here to defeat?"

"Before we initiate this pointless one-sided fight, take a look around you."

Ko looked around, seeing the unconscious bodies of Ageha and Tsurara strewn across the ground.

"You'll end up worse off than them if you go through with this."

"I was stronger than Tsurara and Ageha when we were all schoolmates, and I'm STILL the strongest out of all of us."

"Hm hm. Be careful. I may have to take you up on that claim."

"Go ahead and try!" Ko said, sprinting forward and throwing several blows. Megami blocked most, but caught one in the stomach, sending her skidding backwards.

"What happened to the chivalrous cutie I knew in school?"

"Don't get me wrong, I still believe in chivalry, just not for insane sex addicts. That's WHY I broke up with you."

"Well, if you to play it like that, get ready!" Megami said, running forward for a counter-attack.


	5. Waging War and a Vampire

A/N: Sorry that it took so long for me to update. I was trying to work on two prjects at the same time. And I just foung out that a little of the information I put into the last chapter may have been a bit inaccurate. Thanks to the unreliable Wikipedia, I had no idea that Saizou's father was actually Ko. If nobody minds, I'll keep that part in the story, since I can't think of any other was of interpreting it. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

* * *

Moka hastily pulled the rubble off of Tsukune's back as battle erupted behind her.

"Can you move yet?" she asked.

"No. My body is going numb." Tsukune grunted.

As Moka continued to dig Tsukune up, something flew into her, throwing her into the ground.

"I'm not done with you yet." Seiteki panted.

Moka kicked her off. "You're still weak, Seiteki. I could kill you easily."

"Sure you could. You could've killed me while we were still at the school. But you didn't. Why?"

Seiteki pointed one tail at Tsukune.

"All the crap you were pulling about me when I first arrived at school was 'for the sake' of whom?"

Seiteki pointed another tail at Tsukune.

"And I never told you this, but I spared your life TWICE last year! One time was out of inconvenience, but the other time, in the back of my mind, I didn't want to kill you, because if I did, WHO would be crushed?"

Seiteki pointed the rest of her tails.

"Tsukune might as well put a collar on you and drag you around by the ear. You're pretty much his pet. And if I know Tsukune as well as I think I do, he's not going to let you kill me."

"I don't care what Tsukune thinks about me or you. I don't care if he grieves for you after I kill you, but believe me, when I'm done here, there won't be ANYTHING LEFT to grieve over!"

Moka ran forward to throw a punch. Seiteki tried to block it, but her weakness made it nearly impossible to defend herself. Moka mercilessly stepped on her head, keeping her pinned in place.

"Any last words, you louse?"

Not too far away, Megami kept one eye on Seiteki while continuing to focus on her own opponent.

'Hm. I've already cleaved my life in half to give her memory and powers back. What's another ninth of it to give her a step up?' She thought, pointing a tail at Seiteki and zapping her with a golden stream of energy.

Megami dropped to one knee in weakness, giving Ko an opportunity to give a jarring kick which sent Megami flying backwards.

Seiteki, who was severely close to unconsciousness, began to twitch. All of a sudden, a sixth tail burst from her rear.

Imbued with new strength, Seiteki defied Moka and pushed her off of her.

"I'll thank Mom later. She always does so much for me." Seiteki said.

Moka swung her body around in a powerful roundhouse kick, but Seiteki just caught her foot, stopping Moka dead in her tracks and leaving her in a precarious position.

Seiteki gave her own kick, straight into Moka's jaw. She flew into the mound of rubble that was on top of Tsukune.

"Moka, help me out of here! She's too powerful to beat on your own!" Tsukune pleaded.

Moka ignored Tsukune and stood.

"Wow. You're doing an EXCELLENT job of hiding your pride, Moka. I don't know, nor do I really care to know what happened between you and Tsukune, but whatever rusty staples you have in your respective consciences don't bother me."

Moka brushed the dust off of her shoulder and prepared to strike again.

***

Kokoa ducked and weaved away from Rujutan's powerful punches and kicks, which became increasingly swift.

Rujutan prepped for a roundhouse kick that Kokoa found that she was unable to avoid, so she turned Kou into a steel shield. Rujutan couldn't pull out of the kick and smashed her heel into Kou.

The kitsune's shattered heel rebounded painfully, making her unable to walk and forcing her to stand on one foot.

"You haven't won yet. My foot should be all fixed up in the next thirty seconds or so." Rujutan said.

"Then I'll have to finish you in twenty-nine!" Kokoa said, turning Kou into a large axe and swinging it at Rujutan. She hopped backwards progressively away from Kokoa. After one golden swing, Kokoa caught part of Rujutan's jacket.

Before Kokoa could bring the axe down on top of her, Rujutan, planted her healed other foot on the ground and sidestepped, using the opportunity to deliver a jarring punch which forced Kokoa to release Kou and sent her flying into a building behind her.

Rujutan crouched to all fours and assumed her full kitsune form. She spit a wad of fox fire onto her paw. All of a sudden, the fire began to spread until it had completely engulfed her body. The fire began to contort and warp itself until it formed the shape of a cat-fox like creature with five thrashing tails. Suddenly, large, yellow, bulbous eyes appeared on her face, completing Rujutan's Nibiru form.

Almost instantly, Rujutan's eyes shriveled in the light, blinding her.

"How are you going to fight me now? You can't see." Kokoa said.

"True, but to compensate, my senses of smell and hearing are heightened." Rujutan said, pouncing at Kokoa. She managed to catch her and pin her to the ground, singing her clothes.

"Now die!" Rujutan yelled, preparing to bite down on Kokoa's head. All of a sudden, a slab of rock flew through the air and slammed into Rujutan. The thrower, Kurumu, flew down to the ground and helped Kokoa to her feet.

"Need help?" Kurumu asked Kokoa.

"Of course not! Didn't you see that I had the situation under control?" the carrot-haired vampire said with strong sarcasm in her voice.

Rujutan began to stand, having landed inside the large building behind her. The fire that covered her body activated the smoke alarm, causing her sensitive ears pain and discomfort.

"Aw, man! She ruined my favorite perfume store!" Kurumu whined.

"Perfume… That's it! That's how we can beat her!" Kokoa said. "Kurumu, what are the strongest-scented perfumes in the store?"

"The most expensive ones, _Le Flora Plume_. They're in the back, so I don't think she touched those, thank goodness."

Kokoa ran into the wrecked store and straight to the rear of it. She grabbed a vial of _Le Flora Plume_, then ran back to Kurumu.

"What about the worst-smelling ones?"

"_Sora de la PePe_. Those are near the storage area. What do you want with all these-"

Kurumu stopped as Kokoa ran off again. She grabbed a vial of purplish liquid. Rujutan had overcome her disorientation and roared at Kokoa as she ran by. The large green Nibiru clumsily tried to follow Kokoa around the store, knocking over racks of items. Kokoa was grabbing as many different brands of perfume as she could.

Once she had reached her carry limit, she began to toss the bottles at Rujutan's nose. They broke as they collided, splashing perfume all over Rujutan's face, which quickly evaporate into a murky, scented cloud that loomed around Rujutan's head.

"What are you doing? You're wasting perfectly good perfume!" Kurumu yelled.

"I'm trying to trigger a sensory overload." Kokoa said. As Rujutan stumbled around, confused out of her mind with all the smells gathering around her, Kokoa grabbed Kou, who was still stuck in the ground.

"Thank goodness! I was starting to get a headache."

Kokoa turned Kou into a boomerang and threw him into the sprinkler system, making them spray water all over Rujutan. The pained Nibiru hissed and crouched down low to the ground. Slowly, the fire dissipated and Rujutan reverted back to her kitsune form, paralyzed.

Kokoa caught Kou in the air and turned him into an axe again.

"Get the tails! Get the tails!" Kurumu said. Kokoa brought her axe down hard on Rujutan's five tails, cleanly severing them all.

Her eyes widened and she screeched in pain, then she fell limp.

"Still a bad way to use perfume, but good plan, Kokoa." Kurumu said, giving her friend a high-five.

***

After being cannoned in the stomach, Kahlua skidded backwards into a wall, showing little signs of pain, despite the huge bruise around her naval. Kenage was smiling almost cheerfully.

"Is this a game to you?" Kahlua asked, her eyes becoming misty.

"As a video game addict, avid beta tester, and number one ranked nationally on Urban Rivals Japan, EVERYTHING is a game to me. I'm hoping that you won't make this one of those crappy games that you can get for $7.99 at Target."

"Well, don't worry." Kahlua said ominously. With tears in her eyes, she removed one of her earrings. Her left arm began to twitch, then suddenly exploded into a freakish bat wing with five sharp 'talons'.

All of a sudden, Kahlua began to bawl loudly, running forward and wildly swinging her arm at Kenage, who sprung backward onto the top of a light pole, where he launched swift balls of fire at Kahlua. She was able to sparingly avoid them and run her claws through the light pole, sending it toppling to the ground.

When Kenage fell to the ground, Kahlua tried to bring her claws down on his head. He rolled out of the way and launched a fox fireball into Kahlua's blind spot.

"Stand still so I can kill you!!" Kahlua bellowed, running forward and plunging her claws into Kenage's torso.

"Hm. This hurts less than I thought it would." Kenage grunted. Kahlua's jaw dropped.

"What are you?"

"I'm as much a kitsune as you are a vampire. My endurance traits are just a lot more advanced than an average kitsune. It's going to take much more than that to kill me. Now, enough idle chat."

Kenage kicked Kahlua hard in the stomach, tearing her claws out of his body.

"The game is on."

Kahlua stumbled backwards, still shaken slightly. Kenage shot his tails forward, grabbing Kahlua around her waist.

"Let go of me!" she yelled as Kenage raised her into the air and slammed her into the ground.

"I said let go of-" Kahlua said as she was raised into the air and pummeled into the ground again.

"You and I are alike. You have a very high pain tolerance as well." Kenage pointed out. "But now it's time to end your game for good."

He bound Kahlua's arms and legs with four of his tails. He them pulled his arms back, preparing to launch a huge ball of fox fire.

Before he could finish, a large cloud of ice struck him, freezing him solid. Mizore appeared from behind him.

"I think your game is frozen." she said.

Kenage's arm broke free from its icy casing. He used it to punch the rest of the ice, freeing himself.

"Ha ha. Very funny." Kenage said, shivering. He extended his arm to launch a fox fireball, which cruised slowly through the air. Mizore ducked to avoid it.

"Wow. That was much slower than usual. You must be lagging." Mizore taunted, smiling.

'Hypothermia. It's slowing me down.' Kenage thought. He charged a fox fireball in his hand and threw it on the ground, sending up a giant cloud of smoke.

"You can't fight me if you can't see me."

"Are you going to upgrade your system in the meantime?" Mizore called, coughing. After several seconds of stumbling around in the heavy smoke, Mizore called out.

"Kahlua! I can't find you! Can you throw me a bone?"

"I'm over here!" called her voice after several more seconds. All of a sudden, Kahlua ran out of the smoke, up to Mizore.

"Come on, let's get out of this smoke before that game geek finds us.

"Idiot." Kahlua said.

"Huh?" Mizore said, before Kahlua shoved her claws into Mizore's heart.

"I am that game geek."

Suddenly, Kahlua's face morphed into Kenage's.

"I morphed into Kahlua to put you off guard."

"Then…where's…" Mizore wheezed.

"Kahlua? Already killed her. What's left of her is sitting over there."

As the smoke cleared, Mizore noticed that Kahlua's mutilated body was lying nearby.

"And now you're joining her." Kenage said, running his claws through Mizore's body. She collapsed to the ground.

"Well, that takes care of-"

Kenage stopped as two sets of icy and freakish claws delved into his body. On either side of him, Mizore and Kahlua had shoved their claws into Kenage's chest.

"How…" Kenage grunted.

"Me and Mizore had a couple of extra lives." Kahlua said.

"Nice." Mizore said, giving Kahlua a thumbs-up with her free hand.

On the ground nearby, the corpses of Mizore and Kahlua began to melt into water.

"They were my ice clones. We quickly coordinated this while the smoke was still heavy. You've got to admit, that's some good strategy." Mizore said, erecting ice spikes from her claws that ravaged Kenage's body.

Kenage spit up a massive clod of blood.

"He he he. You think it's game over, don't you? Not yet. Welcome to the sudden death round." Kenage wheezed.

"What are you clamoring on about?" Mizore asked.

"You haven't thought this all the way through. I'm still alive, and I've got one more game-changer. Look at your claws. What do you notice?"

Mizore looked at her and Kahlua's hands. She noticed that their claws were interlocked.

"Yeah, so?"

Kenage quickly rotated his body to the right, locking Kahlua's wrist in place and placing strain on Mizore's hand.

"Now your claws are hemmed in. You can't escape."

Mizore and Kahlua tried to pull their claws out. Neither could move their wrists correctly.

"Okay. You've trapped our hands in your chest. What now?"

"I'm glad you asked." Kenage said, his voice lowering to a whisper. "I'm going to die in a few moments. The moment before I do, I'm going to rig myself to explode. And since you can't escape… Well, let's just say that I'll save you a spot in hell. TTFN."

Kenage went silent. Suddenly, his tails stiffened and straightened out. The tips of them lit up with fox fire and began to burn down like fuses.

"He's a bomb! We have to get out of here!" Kahlua said.

"There's no way we can do this without tearing out our arms!" Mizore panicked.

Kahlua tried her hardest to pull her claws out, all attempts in vain.

"Man! It's like one of those Chinese finger traps that I got in Hong Kong!" Mizore said in frustration.

Kahlua gasped, her brain scattering. "I know how to do those! You just push your fingers in, THEN pull them out. Wait… That's it!! Push your hand further in, then pull it back out! Hurry!"

Kahlua and Mizore simultaneously pushed their hands in, freeing their wrists. They quickly pulled out and leaped away, not a moment to soon. Kenage exploded in a large cloud of green fire and smoke.

"Wow. That's the biggest firewall I've ever seen." Mizore said. "Kahlua?"

Mizore looked over at Kahlua and saw that she was on the ground, passed out from her injuries.

"Go figure."

***

Megami began to pant hard. She and Ko stood face-to-face in the center of the street.

"Hm. I'd have thought that after twenty-five years, you'd have gotten stronger, Megami. I guess that for the first time in a LONG time, I was wrong. Ironically, it's the first time in twenty-five years. Can you guess who I was wrong about?"

Megami spit on the ground, then stood up straight. "You never did have a sense of humor, old man."

"Well, this isn't a battle of wits, OLDER woman."

Megami charged a ball of fox fire in her hand and threw it at Ko, who dodged to the right.

"Oh, so it's dodgeball we're playing now. Fine, then." Ko said, concentrating his monstrous aura into an orb. He threw it hard at Megami who just barely dodged it.

In response, Megami rapidly launched a myriad of fox fireballs. Ko jumped onto the side of the building beside him, but the cloud of fireballs followed him. He jumped from wall to wall, but the cloud continued to stalk him. One fireball blasted forward, striking a jutting flagpole that Ko was going to use as support. He fell to the ground, landing on his feet. The fireball cloud all fused together, forming a large blob of fox fire that slammed into the ground where Ko was standing.

"Yes!" Megami said. All of a sudden, a large ball of monstrous aura smashed into her, sending her flying. Ko was standing a little ways away, where he used his blinding speed to escape the fox fire. Ko snapped him fingers and the ball exploded.

"Gotcha. You're out." he said.

***

Moka and Seiteki had their arms locked in a test of strength. During which, Seiteki smiled.

"My memories are resurfacing pretty quickly, and I just remembered something cool I could do."

"What?" Moka asked.

"This."

Suddenly, Seiteki's eyes turned red.

Moka gasped, remembering Seiteki's mid-control abilities, but it was far too late. Her eyes turned red and Moka stood up straight.

"I am under your command."

"Moka!" Tsukune called.

"I'll be with you in a second, cutie. Right after I figure out how to dispose of HER."

"Moka! Snap out of it!"

"Oh, please. You can't do anything from where you are." Seiteki laughed. "Now, what to do with you? Should I make you jump off of a building? Or maybe drown in the harbor? Or…"

While Seiteki was gloating, Tsukune spied a small rock, then looked back at Moka, specifically her broken hand. Tsukune picked up the rock and threw it and Moka's hand. It hit her dead on target.

Moka yelped and her eyes snapped back to normal. She turned quickly to Tsukune.

"YOU SON OF A-"

Moka stopped, realizing that she was still fighting. She turned again, swiftly backhanding Seiteki in the face.

"I'll kill you later." Moka said to Tsukune, as a way of thanks. She and Seiteki began to struggle again, and Seiteki got the upper hand. She ended up on top of Moka, trying to choke her to death.

"Seiteki! Don't do this!" Tsukune yelled. "You're a better person than that! I know that the better you is in there somewhere! Bring it back! This isn't you! Bring back the REAL you!"

"This…is…the real…me…" Seiteki said, her grip loosening slightly on Moka's neck.

"No it's not! You're just a shadow of yourself! I know the other you is in there somewhere! Come back!"

"Ah! I have a headache!" Seiteki said, releasing Moka to clutch her head.

"Aah!! It's getting worse!"

At this point, Seiteki was on her knees, crying because the pain was so intense. Suddenly, her head snapped up and her tears stopped.

"Tsukune? Noka?"

"She's back!" Tsukune said. "Can you help me out of here now, Moka?"

Moka stood up, still trying to catch her breath. She and Seiteki pulled the rest of the rubble off of Tsukune, helping him to stand up.

Seiteki was about to speak, but she knelt down again, clutching her head. She slowly stood, her left eye shut tight. Her right eye was wide, bloodshot, and fierce.

"I'm not…going to lose…control!!!"

Seiteki's two personalities were locked in a subconscious war. Suddenly, the fierce Seiteki's eye closed, and her left eye, which was gentler and misty, opened.

"Help me, please! I can't keep this up!"

"What can we do?" Tsukune asked.

"Exactly. What CAN we do? She's fighting with herself, and there's no way we can tap in." Moka said.

Seiteki's body began to convulse and she dropped to the ground, letting out a huge scream.

She stopped, lying face-down and panting. When she stood, both eyes were open, and her expression was very different than either of the other two. Her smile was neither shy nor malicious, but rather mischievous.

"Wow! That sure was a wild ride! But I'm all good now." she said. "Moka! Tsukune! You guys look great!"

"Seiteki?" Moka asked suspiciously.

"That's ma' name!" she said with a huge toothy grin.

"Interesting… Her two personalities have somehow combined."

"Hey, guys! We did it! We beat'em all!" Kurumu said. She gasped when she saw Seiteki, putting her claws to her neck.

"Whoa! Sharp!" Seiteki said.

"Why is she still here?" Mizore asked.

"Calm down a second. Something happened to her. Her personalities have fused somehow."

"Tsukune did it." Seiteki said.

Everyone stared at Tsukune in confusion. Tsukune looked equally confused.

"When you yelled encouraging things to me, my old personalities began to fight each other. They fought so much, that eventually, they just splat together, making me!"

Everyone's attention shifted when Ko landed on the ground next to them, sweating.

"Don't relax yet." he warned.

Suddenly, Megami walked down the street, toward them.

"You think you've won, don't you… Not even close! I've only just begun to fight!!!" Megami screamed, crouching down to all fours.

Light began to emanate from her body as sleek, golden fur began to cover her.

The light slowly began to amplify, to the point where everyone else had to shield their eyes. When the light diminished, Tsukune was the first to look. He gasped. The rest of the group slowly opened their eyes and they had the same expression as Tsukune. Before them was a large golden fox with glaring red eyes and bright light shining around it.

"Face my true power!" Megami yelled in a malevolent voice.


	6. Tearjerkers, Cliffhangers, and a Vampire

Megami slowly stalked toward Tsukune and the others, who slowly backed away.

"Seiteki, kill them!" Megami ordered.

"Make me!" Seiteki said defiantly, crossing her arms and poking out her lip.

"Excuse me?! I gave you an order! What is the matter with you?"

"I came to my senses. My personalities have clashed and THIS is the result! And it's all thanks to Tsukune!"

Tsukune mouthed the word 'No!' to try to stop her, but it was already too late.

"So, what they say is true. All roads lead to Rome. Everything is coming back to you, Aono!" Megami growled.

"If you want to hurt Tsukune, you'll have to go through me!" Seiteki said.

Megami looked as if she was pulling back slightly, but she roared just a moment later. Ageha had awoken and had jumped onto Megami's head, grabbing her ears.

Megami groaned, then crouched low to the ground.

"Oh, this is a weakness? I thought I was just being a distraction." Ageha said.

"Who's complaining? Not me." said Tsurara's voice.

All of a sudden, several small snowmen leaped up and clung to Megami's fur, clumping together and bogging her down.

"Run!" Seiteki yelled.

"Where?!" Kurumu yelled back. "She's going to escape eventually, then follow us!"

"We have to do SOMETHING! Standing around isn't going to help us at all!" Mizore complained.

"Neither is complaining, now go!" Ko yelled.

As the larger group ran off, Ageha, Ko, and Tsurara put their focus back on Megami.

"Tsurara! Try to cut her tails off!"

"That's a lot easier said!" Tsurara grunted, trying to slash at Megami's thrashing tails.

Megami inadvertently slammed one of her tails into the ground, causing a brief shockwave. She made a feral smile and raised all of her tails in the air.

"Aw, hell." Tsurara said.

When Megami crashed her tails into the ground, a larger, much more powerful shockwave exploded into Tsurara and any unconscious bodies nearby on the ground. They all flew backward, disappearing in the large cloud of smoke.

"Tsurara! Are you okay?!" Ageha asked. Before getting a response, Megami grabbed her by the arms and legs with two of her tails and slingshot her into the smoke before struggling and wriggling out of her snowy encasing.

"Your turn." Megami snarled at Ko.

The elder vampire stepped backwards, with Megami breathing smoke out of her nose at him. She opened her mouth, but before she could strike, the snow the she had escaped from flew forward into Megami's mouth.

"Ko, fall back! They've escaped safely! There's nothing more we can do!" Tsurara ordered.

Ko nodded and ran toward her and Ageha, into the still heavy smoke.

Megami was finally able to cough the chunk of snow out of her throat, growling.

"I love it when my prey runs. A good chase really frees the mind Get ready, Aono, and company. I'm coming for you."

***

"*sigh* What are we going to do? She's going to find us eventually, and once she does, TSUKUNE'S in trouble." Moka said, pacing back and forth.

"What do you mean?" Tsukune asked.

"What do you mean 'What do I mean?' You know exactly what I mean!" Moka said with a slight nervous twitch.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Kurumu said.

"You're the one who did what you did to Seiteki. Megami's eyes are locked on you." Moka said to Tsukune sternly.

"Thanks for your enthusiasm and support, Moka. And by the way, Megami hates ALL of our guts."

"Not mine." Seiteki chimed.

"Anyway, we need a plan, or else we're all going to die."

"Ooh! Ooh! I have an idea!" said a muffled voice. Tsukune took the rosario out of his pocket and saw that the jewel encrusted into it was glowing, meaning that Outer Moka was trying to communicate.

"Outer Moka… You've been awfully silent."

"Not a lot to say, and I didn't want to distract you."

"So what do you have in mind?"

"What if Mizore made ice clones of all of us that Megami killed instead of the real thing."

"Mizore's ice clones can't bleed. Megami will be able to tell that they're fake." Moka explained.

"What if she swallowed them whole?"

"Oh, God…" Moka said, rubbing her temples. "I did mention that they're ICE clones, right? If you're eating ice, you're probably going to be able to tell."

"Okay, well… What about-"

"I can tell what she's saying. Outer, it's useless. I can dress up my ice all I want, but it's still just ice. It won't work." Mizore said.

The rosario went silent again.

"I wonder what Mom would do to me? She sure wouldn't KILL me, that's for sure." Seiteki thought aloud.

"Okay, you're really starting to piss me off!" Moka said, grabbing Seiteki by the collar.

"Sorry! Sorry! I wasn't thinking!"

"Ooh! Ooh! Idea!" the rosario said again.

"What is it now?"

"Just listen!"

***

Megami stepped through the sea of cataleptic bodies, carefully sniffing for Tsukune and the others.

"This is far too difficult with all of these other scents confusing me. I'll have to get rid of some." Megami said, unsheathing her claws and preparing to swipe through the streets.

Before she could swipe once, a loud clang followed by a whispered 'Ow!' was heard nearby. Megami raised an ear to listen closer.

"You idiot! She probably heard that!" Kokoa whispered angrily.

Megami growled and put her claw down, walking around the corner. She turned her head to the sound and caught a fox fireball in the eye. Megami roared and stumbled backwards, unable to see properly.

"Mizore, now!" Seiteki called.

On top of the building beside Megami, Mizore leaped off, skating on a trail of ice that she was continually creating. She rapidly approached Megami's tails.

"Got to make this quick and clean." Mizore said, extending her claws and swiping them at Megami's tails.

Mizore's claws shattered against Megami's tails as she skated by. She flew to the ground, staring in shock at her broken claws.

Megami raised her tails in the air to cause a shockwave, but Mizore, thinking quickly, spread a thick sheet of ice under Megami so that the force of the shockwave was absorbed into the ice, smashing it to pieces. With no traction or support, Megami's legs came from under her and she fell to the ground.

"Mizore, what happened?" Seiteki asked as Megami tried and failed to stand.

"I don't know. Her tails felt like iron."

"They felt soft and fluffy when she touched me with them." Seiteki said.

"She was in her half-form that time." Tsukune said. "Maybe we can only attack her tails when she's in her half-form."

"How are we going to get her to change back?"

Megami growled, falling back onto her stomach. Debris from a nearby building fell, almost crushing a couple of bodies on the ground.

"We can't try while we're still here. There are too many potential casualties." Outer Moka said from the rosario.

"It's summer. Where are we going to find a place that's empty?" Kurumu asked.

"I've got it! And I've got a new plan!" Outer Moka said.

"Oh, geez." Inner Moka said. "Another plan."

"It's a good one this time!"

Megami was able to dig her claws into a dry section of the road and drag herself off the ice.

"She'll have to explain it on the way! We have to move!" Seiteki said, dropping to all fours and assuming her full form, a scraggly-looking red fox.

"Well, it's a lot prettier that your four-tail full form." Kurumu said.

"Hop on!"

Seiteki crouched low, allowing her friends to climb onto her back. Megami stood up, shaking the gravel out of her pelt.

"Hold on tight!" Seiteki said, leaping forward into a sprint.

"If you can't even scratch me, what makes you think you can outrun me?" Megami taunted, sprinting behind them.

"Wait! We can't just leave Daddy here!" Kahlua protested.

"Same here. We need as much help as we can get. Let's find our parents." Mizore said.

"Alright, then!" Seiteki said, giving the air a quick sniff.

"There are too many scents." she said frustratedly. "I can smell debris, musty deodorant, cheap perfume-"

"Cheap perfume sounds a lot like Mom. Follow that scent." Kurumu said.

Seiteki was about to make a quick turn, but Megami leaped at her, bringing Seiteki to the ground and throwing her passengers off.

"Seiteki, get a hold of yourself! This isn't you!" Megami said.

"Mother knows best, huh? You don't know ANYTHING anymore!" Seiteki yelled in defiance, twisting in her mother's grasp and clawing her on the cheek as hard as she could.

Megami was stunned, but not injured as she pulled back and shook her head to clear her disorientation. Seiteki use her six tails to scoop up her friends and place them on her back again.

"I tore a couple of claws, but I'm okay." she said to them painfully.

"It's hopeless, Seiteki. Just give in. I don't want to hurt you." Megami said sadly.

"The feeling is mutual, Mom. I don't want to hurt you. Nevertheless, I won't let you control me either. You've been doing that for far too long. I want to live my own life." Seiteki said as she ran.

Megami continued to follow closely behind. Mizore launched ice thorns at her, which smashed against her face without slowing her down at all.

"Hold on tight! Sharp turn coming up!" Seiteki said, skidding to a halt, the turning down an acute lane. Mizore blew a sheet of ice on the road so Megami would slide across, slowing her down only momentarily.

"There they are!" Kurumu said, noticing her mother, Tsurara, and Ko sitting nearby.

"Hop on, quickly!" Seiteki said, stopping. Once the adults were on Seiteki's back, she took off again.

"So what was that plan you were talking about?" Moka said to the rosario.

***

Seiteki ran until she was out of the city and in the residential area.

"Even here, people are affected by the charm." Moka said, glancing at the unconscious bodies on the ground.

"Oh, are you serious?" Seiteki said as she approached a tunnel that was too big for her to fit into.

"What do we do now? You're too slow in your half-form and human form." Tsukune said.

"Not to worry! I have six tails now. The sixth tail now gives me the power to expand my horizons in terms of transformation. In other words…"

Seiteki closed her eyes and waggled her tails, rapidly transforming. Soon, she had completely transformed into a large lion, but smaller than her original form.

"I can morph into other living things!" she finished with a roar, storming through the cave.

Not far behind, Megami charged forward, waggling her tails as well. She progressively shrunk until she was just large enough to fit into the tunnel.

"You can't escape!" Megami said, charging a fox fireball and launching it at Seiteki. It explode on the ground right behind her, propelling Seiteki forward and out of the tunnel, sending her and her passengers tumbling to the ground.

Megami stalked out of the cave, reassuming her full size. She charged a fox fireball, then threw it at the ground, extending it into a circle arena with Seiteki just outside the edge.

"This place will be your burial grounds!" Megami snarled, kneading her claws into the soft dirt.

"Not if we can help it!" Ageha said, firing two narrow beams from her chest. Megami dodged to the left, then slapped Ageha away with the back of her paw. She charged a fox fireball, but Tsurara threw a large slush ball at Megami's mouth, putting out the ethereal flames.

"You think a little cold water will put me out? Not even close!" Megami said, blowing a cloud of green flames. Tsurara and Mizore ran backwards to avoid melting.

Ko took the Shirayukis' place and ran forward, delivering a powerful rising kick to Megami's jaw.

"Humph! That almost hurt!" Megami said, head butting Ko and launching him into the ground. Megami then smashed Ko into the ground with one tail.

"Father!" Moka yelled, sprinting forward and leaping into the air, dropping a fierce axe kick right between Megami's eyes.

"Grr. And that DID hurt!" Megami growled, pummeling Moka into the nearby dead forest with one of her powerful tails.

The battle raged on, and Megami was gaining the upper hand. When all looked lost, Megami stopped, hearing a loud voice ring out.

"STOOOP!!!"

Megami turned and saw Seiteki standing on the edge of the nearby cliff.

"Isn't that the cliff I threw you off last year?" Kurumu asked.

"Please don't remind me."

"Seiteki! What are you doing?! Stop acting crazy!" Megami said, dispersing her flames and walking up to the cliff edge. Seiteki stepped back once so that her heels were off the edge.

Megami tensed and stopped where she was, reverting to her half-form.

"Think about what you're doing, Seiteki. You're about to throw your life away, and for what?"

Seiteki sighed, angst growing in her eyes.

"In my first state of mind, I knew what I was doing and what I was doing it for, but I didn't completely understand it. In my second state of mind, I didn't know anything, except that I had my independence. Now that my two personalities have combined, I finally understand it all."

Megami seemed stunned.

"All of this time, I was your lump of clay, and you were molding me into your image. I was just a marionette, and you were working the strings. At first, I blamed Moka, then I blamed myself, but now I know who's REALLY to blame!"

"Seiteki…" Megami whispered.

"You're the cause of all the heartache that me and my friends have experienced. To be so numb and so cold, and then to be so numb-skulled and clueless. What direction will my life turn next? I'm not going to wait and see!"

"It's over! I'm ready to die if it means seeing all of your schemes and ambitions fall apart right before your eyes!" Seiteki finished, closing her eyes and beginning to lean backward.

"Seiteki!! NO!!!" Megami said, running toward her and following her off the cliff.

Seiteki and Megami freefell until they were mere feet from the ground. Then Seiteki opened her eyes and with a mischievous smile yelled,

"PSYCHE!!!"

Once Seiteki smashed into the ground, she shattered like glass into multiple shards of ice. Megami's eyes became widened and dull. She rotated her body in time to land on the ground with her feet. Stunned slightly, she stared with glazed eyes around her. She finally looked up and saw Moka, Ko, and Tsukune in his ghoul form falling to the ground with their legs stuck out, striking Megami in the face with three simultaneous axe kicks.

Moka grabbed Megami by her neck, tossing her into the air.

"Kurumu! Ageha!" she called.

The two succubi flew down to the ground, rapidly scratching and cutting Megami with their long claws.

Megami hung in the air for a moment, which gave the real Seiteki an opening to leap into the air and deliver a violent punch, charged with fox fire. The recoil sparks that flew from Seiteki's hand jumped onto Megami and sparked one of her tails.

Megami slowly stood with what little strength she had remaining. Before she could do any more, Mizore and Tsurara mid-air ice-skated down to the ground, each extending one finger to a lengthy distance and jabbing them Megami's sides. Both Shirayukis smiled, then caused they're extended fingers to grow multiple branches, skewering Megami's skin until she was barely recognizable.

By this time, the tail that had been sparked caught completely on fire, and with every part of her body skewered, it was impossible for her to put out the flames.

Megami smiled weakly as Seiteki walked up to her.

"Oh, what cruel fate and tragic irony that a kitsune dies by its own signature weapon." Seiteki said.

"And what irony that a mother is slain by the one whom she gave birth to." Megami said weakly.

Seiteki was silent.

"I understand your reserve. And I have realized that you were right."

"Wait. Just to keep things as little complex as I can, that wasn't me up there."

"I know. I also know that what you said were your words. I was cruel, commanding, and downright evil. I couldn't see that inside, you were hurting, because you followed my will without complaint."

A small tear began to form in Seiteki's eye.

"I've been a horrible mother, and whatever happens to me is fairly just."

At that point, all of Megami's tails were progressively burning down into scorched nubs.

"Wait! Who's going to take care of my littermates? Rujutan and Kenage are dead, and I don't-"

"It's okay, Seiteki. Arata can be put in charge. She's the leadership type." Megami said.

"Just one more thing." Seiteki said, her face shifting from panic to seriousness. "I've seen a lot of stepfathers come in and out of my life, but I have to know. Who was my real father?"

"Not was. Is. Your father is very much alive."

"You told me he died."

"Out of my own selfishness. Your father and I ended our relationship on bad terms. He saw you as an infant, but you've never had a solid memory of him, I'd assume."

"I've always wanted to see him. Do you know where he is?"

"He…He lives… near…Fuji."

Megami was getting much weaker as her tails began to reduce themselves to ash.

"I love you, Mom." Seiteki said, closing her eyes to hold back her tears.

"I'll always love you… Seiteki." Megami said, closing her eyes and dying with a smile.

Everyone around Seiteki had misty eyes, except for Ko and Moka. Moka took the rosario from Tsukune's hand and attached it to her chain.

"She knows her place now." Moka said softly before regressing to her outer self.

***

~two days later~

Tsukune and his friends were sitting on and around the living room couch, watching the news. Kokoa, Kahlua, Ko, Tsurara, and Ageha returned to their respective homes. A report was being aired about the recent events that happened in the city.

"Two days ago, at about 3:43 P.M, a mysterious explosion sent a small city into a panic. Strangely enough, just a few seconds after the explosion, nearly every single person in the city simultaneously lost consciousness."

"When people began to awaken, nearly half of the city was in ruins. However, only a few casualties were reported. Authorities believe that this was a terrorist plot, but as of yet, no suspects have been reported."

"Wow. Nobody has any idea what happened that day." Moka said.

"As long as they never know, we're in the clear." Kurumu said.

"I'm ready!!!" Seiteki bellowed, stepping out of the hall. She was wearing the glittery tube top that Kurumu had purchased with the orange-white bellbottom pants that Moka had purchased.

"Hm. That really does go great together." Kurumu said, eyeing Seiteki up and down. She patted her on the shoulder.

"Well done, my pupil. Fashion is your forte."

"So are we all ready for our day on the town?" Moka asked.

Mizore nodded, leaning near the frame of the door. They all walked out of the house, forgetting to turn the television off. As the TV set continued to blare, a breaking news report suddenly came up.

"Breaking news! Thanks to a thorough scan for fingerprints and blood samples on scene, authorities have been able to identify several key suspects for this investigation. If any of these characters are seen, please notify the authorities immediately."

All of a sudden, the faces of Tsukune, Inner Moka, Kurumu, Mizore, and Seiteki respectively appeared on the screen.

* * *

A/N: Cliffhanger! This is the end of the story. Please feel free to review my story and give your own views. All criticism is expected, accepted, and appreciated. =)


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